Public Statements

Issue Position: Standing Up for the Middle Class

Issue Position

In Michigan and across this country workers and the labor movement built the middle class through hard struggle and constructive partnerships with industry and government. But for 30 years we have been saddled with an economic ideology in Washington, Wall Street and Lansing that views workers as a cost to be minimized, rather than the engine of our economy, and that tolerates and even rewards income inequality not seen since the 1920s. It is time that we stop blaming working people for our economic challenges and start investing in their capacity to compete. It is time for Michigan and its workers to innovate once again and build a state economy that creates 21st century jobs that will sustain and grow the middle class.

As your state representative I will:

Fight against efforts to make Michigan a right to work state

Champion policies to create a genuine life-long-learning system in our state that expands options for people of all ages to get training and hands-on experience in growing fields that pay good wages

Build partnerships with employers and educational institutions to increase apprenticeships and other work/learning opportunities that enable people to gain an entrée to industry